


Takin' Me Back?

by DChan87



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam (Voltron) Lives, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arizona - Freeform, Background Het, Background Shenanigans, Fluff, Getting Back Together, Keith (Voltron) Being Keith, Lance (Voltron) Being a Little Shit, M/M, Minor Allura/Keith (Voltron), One Shot, Post-Canon, Relationship Discussions, Shiro (Voltron) is a Dork, Shiro (Voltron) is a Good Boyfriend, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Tumblr Prompt, background plance, grand canyon - Freeform, paladin shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 10:50:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15484113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DChan87/pseuds/DChan87
Summary: Based on a Tumblr Prompt. Even though he's finally getting a vacation, Shiro is pretty sure he's back together with Adam. However, he might not be, but visiting the Grand Canyon gives him the opportunity to talk it over with Adam. Together, they discuss their relationship going forward.





	Takin' Me Back?

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr prompt: “Wait a minute. Are you jealous?”

Shiro never imagined he would ever get a break, but here he was, enjoying himself, watching the younger Paladins play in the pool under Lower Navajo Falls, an almost two-mile hike up the trail from the Havasupai Lodge (where Keith used to entertain campers by singing old country songs), in the middle of the Grand Canyon. He sat under an umbrella, sipping some flavored water, enjoying the relief from the hot Arizona desert sun. Pride was an understatement for what he was currently feeling. These young men, women… and Lance… saved the universe thanks to his tutelage and leadership. It had taken him some time to get used to retirement, but now he could enjoy it.

The other Paladins had been playing catch, but playing with a teleporting space wolf was unfair—to the Paladins. So now they were having chicken fights in the pool. Allura sat on Keith’s shoulders, going at with Pidge, who sat on Lance’s shoulders. A light tap from Pidge sent Allura tumbling into the crystal-clear-blue waters. Shiro chuckled at the faint sound of Allura’s cursing, and he could just barely make out her demands to get back on her boyfriend’s shoulders.

Speaking of boyfriends, Shiro looked to his right to see Adam walking up towards him.

Shiro had never imagined Adam would take him back. But seeing him return from several years in space made him change his mind, even if he’d said that he wouldn’t be there for him. He just hadn’t expected to be unintentionally faithful to his ex. But seeing him return as a former Voltron Paladin (how the hell did that happen?) and save Earth from alien invasion was part of the reason.

He also didn’t expect to come back with a former cadet who turned out to be half-alien, three other former cadets, the half-alien cadet’s alien mother, two space elves, space mice and a space dog.

Shiro had a lot of explaining to do.

“So, um…” he trailed off. Adam raised an eyebrow. Shiro had been catching a look at Adam’s chest through his open shirt, but awkwardly turned his eyes away. “Nice… tacos.”

Adam glanced down at the frybread Indian taco he was carrying. “Tell me why I shouldn’t drop yours,” he said.

“Sorry,” Shiro said, running a hand through his now-white hair. He looked back to the pool. Allura and Keith had the upper hand over Pidge and Lance this time. Allura and Pidge were locked in combat. But Keith saw an opening to do something nefarious to Lance—he tickled him. Lance shrieked. Keith shoved him, and Lance and Pidge tumbled into the water.

“So are you their space dad or something?” Adam asked.

“No, that’s Coran,” Shiro said, pointing at the Altean, who was distracted by the sight of a donkey, and a very annoyed tour guide.

“And I guess you don’t regret going into space,” said Adam.

“It’s complicated,” Shiro answered, looking down at his new arm. “If I didn’t go into space, I wouldn’t have lost my arm, wouldn’t have gotten PTSD, wouldn’t have died, wouldn’t have lost my mind—I mean, my clone wouldn’t have, but it feels so real—wouldn’t have lost my arm  _again_ , and wouldn’t have almost died— _again_.

“But I also wouldn’t have been found by everyone, wouldn’t have commanded Voltron, wouldn’t have saved the universe, and wouldn’t have been cured of my disease. Honestly, I think the pros outweigh the cons, even though I’ve suffered so much.”

“And now that you’re back on earth, you’re expecting us to get back together like nothing ever happened?”

“If I believed that, I would’ve kissed you the second I saw you again,” Shiro answered. Looking up, he could see Keith and Allura leaving the water, sharing a kiss of their own.

Adam looked ready to have a snarky response, but he didn’t have one.

“What about you?” Shiro asked.

“Funnily enough, I tried dating again after everything,” Adam answered. “But nothing could ever compare to what we had. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t move on. Especially after the news of the mission came in.”

“I’m sorry,” said Shiro. “I would’ve told you, but I was so busy, and I didn’t know if you even wanted to talk to me again.”

“We’re professionals, Takashi, we would’ve spoken again,” said Adam.

“You know how long I’ve waited to hear you say my name?” Shiro quipped.

“Keith was right, you  _have_ changed,” said Adam.

“But you still love me,” Shiro quipped again.

He turned back to the Paladins. Hunk had come back, carrying some Indian tacos over, and shared them with the Paladins, and Romelle. He watched them all sit down to eat.

“And if I hadn’t gone, I wouldn’t have found this amazing group,” said Shiro. “I mean, Keith had to save me a whole bunch of times—”

“Oh, Keith,” Adam groaned.

“Wait a minute, are you jealous?” Shiro laughed.

“No, I’m not,” Adam replied.

“Come on, you’re jealous of Keith?” Shiro chuckled. “He’s like my little brother.”

“But he loves you.”

“But as you can see,” Shiro said, gesturing at how Keith was so close to Allura. “That’s the thing I’ve learned since I’ve been in space. I thought I knew all there was to know about love. Turns out, I didn’t. I know we both had something special beforehand, but I feel like there’s more to it now. If you truly love someone, you’ll do what you can for them, whether it’s family or a partner, right?’

“… Right? Takashi, what are you getting at?”

“Adam, you asked me if you were as important to me as achieving my dream was. And now I can safely say that you are. I didn’t always think about you, but you were in the back of my mind every time I fought in the gladiator pits, or was about to die as Voltron, or when I was stuck in the Black Lion… I know that sounds weird, but bear with me.

“My point is, I loved you so much that even if we didn’t get back together, you kept me alive, and I wanted to win the war to come back so I can show you that I was still alive. You still don’t have to take me back, but—”

“Takashi, enough,” Adam interrupted. He stood up from his chair, walked over to Shiro, pulled him up onto his feet and into a tight hug. Surprised, Shiro froze for a moment, then put his arms around Adam. “I think I know what you’re saying. We both made mistakes. I admit it. I got angry with you because I just wanted to have you to myself, even though it was best that you went to Kerberos. And you got angry with me, because you felt stifled, even though you knew that I wanted to you to be safe. I had to live with my decision for years, and it hurt me every day of my life.

“I don’t begrudge you. At all. I’m just glad you’re back. And I know what you learned about love; sometimes, it takes sacrifice, and learning from your mistakes. I’m not taking you back because you just showed up, unannounced, expecting a relationship, but because we both know that there’s so much more to love.”

“Yeah,” Shiro replied. “I love you, Adam.”

“I love you, too.”

They both eased the hug and got ready to kiss. Then, without warning, they both heard Allura shrieking. Looking towards the pool, they saw Lance sprinting away from everyone. He was carrying something in his left hand. Keith was in hot pursuit. Allura was covering her chest. It was easy to figure out what was going on.

“LANCE!” Shiro heard Keith roar, “GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!”

“NA, NA, NA-BOO-BOO!” Lance taunted.

“SIC ‘EM, BOY!” Keith’s space dog teleported, appearing in front of Lance. Lance stopped in his tracks, skidded to a stop, but changed direction.

“HEY! KNOCK IT OFF, YOU TWO!” Shiro bellowed. Lance stopped in his tracks, and Keith tackled him with a football tackle. They wrestled, but Keith wrestled the bikini top from Lance and gave it to Allura, who promptly smacked the Red Paladin.

“I thought you said you weren’t a space dad,” said Adam.

“That’s what  _they_  call me,” Shiro answered. He glanced back at his boyfriend, who shared his grin. As they watched the younger Paladins bicker, they both reflected on what lay behind them, and considered what lay before.


End file.
